MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, July 23 (PIA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III cited the successful conduct of 2013 midterm polls in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in his fourth State of the Nation (SONA) on July 22.
“Naging malinis at tapat ang halalan sa ARMM; natuloy ang bilangan, natuloy ang proklamasyon ng mga may bagong mandato mula sa taumbayan” (ARMM successfully held a clean, safe, and fair election; votes were counted, and those whom the people charged with new mandates were proclaimed), the President said.
The 2013 polls was the first time the national and ARMM elections were synchronized.
“Noon ay nakatutok ang buong pwersa ng estado sa iisang rehiyon, pero may failure of elections pa rin” (In the past, the full force of the State was focused on just one region, and yet it still had to call for a failure of elections)," he said.
“Ngayong 2013, dahil buong bansa ang kinailangang tutukan at lumawak ang kanilang responsibilidad, may mga nag-akalang lulubha pa ang situwasyon sa halalan ng ARMM” (This 2013, because our uniformed forces had to safeguard elections across the entire country, there were those who thought the situation in ARMM would only get worse), he further said.
However, the elections in ARMM has greatly improved, the President cited.
The successful and peaceful election according to him was due to the diligence of the uniformed forces and the coming together of the nation.
In Lanao del Sur, the joint police and military forces played a vital role in minimizing election-related violence in the province.
The successful conduct of the 2013 midterm polls in the province was earlier attributed to the timely response of uniformed forces where tensions were reported.
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